February 13
Events *1258 - Baghdad falls to the Mongols, and the Abbasid Caliphate is destroyed. *1503 - Disfida di Barletta - Famous challenge between 13 Italian and 13 French knights near Barletta. *1542 - Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of Henry VIII of England, is executed for adultery. *1575 - Henry III of France is crowned at Rheims. * 1575 - Henry III of France marries Louise de Lorraine-Vaudémont. *1633 - Galileo Galilei arrives in Rome for his trial before the Inquisition. *1635 - The first public school in the U.S., Boston Latin School, is founded. *1668 - Spain recognizes Portugal as an independent nation. *1689 - William and Mary are proclaimed co-rulers of England. *1692 - Massacre of Glencoe : About 78 Macdonalds at Glen Coe, Scotland are killed early in the morning for not promptly pledging allegiance to the new king, William of Orange. *1815 - The Cambridge Union Society founded. *1866 - Jesse James and his gang commit the first armed bank robbery in United States history during peacetime in Liberty. *1880 - Thomas Edison observes the Edison effect. *1881 - The feminist newspaper La Citoyenne is first published in Paris by activist Hubertine Auclert. *1894 - Auguste and Louis Lumière patent the Cinematographe, a combination movie camera and projector. *1899 - Tallahassee records its all time coldest temperature of -2 degrees Fahrenheit. *1914 - Copyright: In New York City the ASCAP (for American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) is established to protect the copyrighted musical compositions of its members. *1920 - The Negro National League is formed. *1934 - The Soviet steamship Cheliuskin sinks in the Arctic Ocean. *1935 - A jury in Flemington finds Bruno Hauptmann guilty of the 1932 kidnapping and murder of the Lindbergh baby, the son of Charles Lindbergh. *1945 - World War II: Red Army forces take Budapest, Hungary from Wehrmacht forces. * 1945 - World War II: The Royal Air Force bombers were dispatched to Dresden, Germany to raid the city by massive aerial bombardment (see Bombing of Dresden in World War II). *1955 - Israel obtains 4 of the 7 Dead Sea scrolls. *1960 - Nuclear testing: France tests its first atomic bomb. *1971 - Vietnam War: Backed by American air and artillery support, South Vietnamese troops invade Laos. *1974 - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, winner of the Nobel Prize in literature in 1970, is exiled from the Soviet Union. *1975 - A fire erupts in the World Trade Center in New York City, New York. *1978 - Hilton bombing: a bomb explodes in a refuse truck outside the Hilton Hotel in Sydney, Australia, killing two refuse collectors and a policeman. *1979 - The intense February 13 strikes western Washington and sinks a 1/2-mile-long section of the Hood Canal Bridge. *1984 - Konstantin Chernenko succeeds the late Yuri Andropov as general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. *1990 - German reunification: An agreement is reached for a two-stage plan to reunite Germany. *1991 - Gulf War: Two laser-guided "smart bombs" destroy a bunker in Baghdad. The bunker was being used as a military communications outpost and unknown to allied forces, as a shelter for Iraqi civilians. *1997 - Space Shuttle program: STS-82 Mission - Tune-up and repair work on the Hubble Space Telescope started by astronauts from the Space Shuttle Discovery. * 1997 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 7,000 for the first time closing at 7,022.44. *2000 - The last original "Peanuts" comic strip appears in newspapers one day after Charles M. Schulz dies. *2001 - An earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter Scale hits El Salvador, killing at least 400. *2004 - The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics discovers the universe's largest known diamond, white dwarf star BPM 37093. *2007 - Taiwan opposition leader Ma Ying-jeou resigned as the chairman of the Kuomintang party after being indicted by the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office on charges of embezzlement during his tenure as the mayor of Taipei; Ma also announced his candidacy for the 2008 presidential election. Births *1457 - Mary of Burgundy, daughter of Charles the Bold and wife of Maximilian I (d. 1482) *1480 - Girolamo Aleandro, Italian Catholic cardinal (d. 1542) *1599 - Pope Alexander VII (d. 1667) *1672 - Étienne François Geoffroy, French chemist (d. 1731) *1721 - John Reid, British army general and composer (d. 1807) *1728 - John Hunter, Scottish surgeon (d. 1793) *1743 - Joseph Banks, English botanist and naturalist (d. 1820) *1768 - Édouard Adolphe Casimir Joseph Mortier, French marshal (d. 1835) *1769 - Ivan Krylov, Russian fabulist (d. 1844) *1805 - Peter Gustav Dirichlet, German mathematician (d. 1859) *1835 - Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community (d. 1908) *1855 - Paul Deschanel, French President (d. 1922) *1873 - Feodor Chaliapin, Russian bass (d. 1938) *1876 - Fritz Buelow, German-born American baseball player (d. 1933) *1879 - Sarojini Naidu, Indian freedom fighter (d. 1949) *1881 - Eleanor Farjeon, English author (d. 1965) *1884 - Alfred Carlton Gilbert, American athlete, inventor, and businessman (d. 1961) *1885 - Bess Truman, First Lady of the United States, wife of President Harry S. Truman (d. 1982) *1891 - Kate Roberts, Welsh nationalist and writer (d. 1985) *1892 - Grant Wood, American painter (d. 1942) *1903 - Georges Simenon, Belgian writer (d. 1989) *1906 - Agostinho da Silva, Portuguese philosopher (d. 1994) *1910 - William Shockley, American physicist and eugenicist, Nobel Laureate (d. 1989) *1911 - Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Pakistani Urdu poet, Lenin Peace Prize winner (d. 1984) *1913 - George Barker, British poet (d. 1991) *1915 - Aung San, Burmese general and politician (d. 1945) * 1915 - Lyle Bettger, American actor (d. 2003) *1918 - Patty Berg, American golfer (d. 2006) *1919 - Tennessee Ernie Ford, American musician (d. 1991) * 1919 - Eddie Robinson, American football coach (d. 2007) *1920 - Eileen Farrell, American opera soprano (d. 2002) *1922 - Francis Pym, British Foreign Secretary 1982-83 * 1922 - Gordon Tullock, American economist *1923 - Michael Bilandic, Mayor of Chicago (d. 2002) * 1923 - Yfrah Neaman, Lebanese-born violinist (d. 2003) * 1923 - Chuck Yeager, American pilot and NASA official *1924 - Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber, French journalist (d. 2006) *1925 - Boudleaux Bryant, American songwriter (d. 1987) *1928 - Dorothy McGuire, American singer (The McGuire Sisters) *1929 - Omar Torrijos, Panamanian ruler (d. 1981) *1930 - Ernst Fuchs, Austrian artist *1932 - Susan Oliver, American actress (d. 1990) *1933 - Paul Biya, Cameroon politician * 1933 - Costa Gavras, Greek-French filmmaker * 1933 - Kim Novak, American actress * 1933 - Caroline Blakiston, British actress *1934 - George Segal, American actor *1937 - Ali El-Maak, Sudanese writer (d. 1992) *1938 - Oliver Reed, English actor (d. 1999) *1939 - Beate Klarsfeld, German Nazi hunter *1941 - Andrea Conte, First Lady of Tennessee 2003 - present *1941 - Sigmar Polke, German painter *1942 - Carol Lynley, American actress * 1942 - Peter Tork, American musician and actor (The Monkees) *1943 - Geoff Edwards, American game show host *1944 - Rebop Kwaku Baah, Nigerian percussionist (d. 1983) * 1944 - Stockard Channing, American actress * 1944 - Jerry Springer, American television host * 1944 - Bo Svenson, Swedish-born actor * 1944 - Oduvil Unnikrishnan, Indian actor (d. 2006) *1945 - King Floyd, American musician (d. 2006) *1946 - Colin Matthews, British composer *1947 - Mike Krzyzewski, American basketball player and coach *1950 - Peter Gabriel, English musician (Genesis) *1951 - Greg Fulginiti, American mastering engineer * 1951 - David Naughton, American actor and singer *1952 - Freddy Maertens, Belgian cyclist *1953 - Rico J. Puno, Filipino pop singer *1954 - Eric Johnson, American artist * 1954 - Donnie Moore, American baseball player (d. 1989) *1955 - Joe Birkett, American lawyer *1956 - Peter Hook, English bassist (Joy Division and New Order) * 1956 - Yiannis Kouros, Greek-Australian runner * 1956 - Princess Alia bint Al Hussein, Jordanian Royal Family member *1957 - Denise Austin, American fitness expert *1958 - Pernilla August, Swedish actress * 1958 - Derek Riggs, British artist * 1958 - Tip Tipping, American actor and stuntman (d. 1993) *1959 - Gaston Gingras, National Hockey League defenceman * 1959 - Gord Hampson, Canadian ice hockey player *1960 - Pierluigi Collina, Italian football referee * 1960 - Gary Patterson, American football coach * 1960 - Matt Salinger, American actor * 1960 - Artur Yusupov, Russian-German chess player *1961 - Henry Rollins, American musician * 1961 - Marc Crawford, Canadian ice hockey player and coach *1962 - Aníbal Acevedo Vilá, American politician *1964 - Mark Patton, American actor * 1964 - Ylva Johansson, Swedish politician *1966 - Jeff Waters, Canadian musician (Annihilator) *1967 - Stanimir Stoilov, Bulgarian soccer player and coach *1968 - Kelly Hu, American actress *1970 - Karoline Krüger, Norwegian singer *1971 - Sonia, British singer * 1971 - Mats Sundin, Swedish ice hockey player * 1971 - Todd Williams, American baseball player *1972 - Charlie Garner, American football player *1974 - Gus Hansen, Danish professional poker player * 1974 - Robbie Williams, English singer * 1974 - Jeff Duran, American radio personality *1975 - Iván González, Puerto Rican disc jockey and musician *1976 - Martin Sastre, Uruguayan artist * 1976 - Feist, Canadian singer and songwriter * 1976 - Dave Padden, Canadian musician (Annihilator) *1977 - Randy Moss, American football player * 1977 - Ben Collins, British racing driver *1978 - Mini Anden, Swedish model and actress *1979 - Rafael Márquez, Mexican footballer * 1979 - Mena Suvari, American actress *1980 - Sebastian Kehl, German footballer *1981 - Luisão, Brazilian footballer * 1981 - Liam Miller, Irish footballer * 1981 - Luke Ridnour, American basketball player *1982 - Michael Turner, Running Back for the San Diego Chargers *1982 - Lanisha Cole, American model *1985 - Kwak Ji-min, South Korean actress * 1985 - Alexandros Tziolis, Greek footballer *1986 - Luke Moore, English footballer *1989 - Carly McKillip, Canadian actress Deaths * 858 - Kenneth I of Scotland *1130 - Pope Honorius II *1141 - Béla II of Hungary (b. 1110) *1219 - Minamoto no Sanetomo, Japanese shogun (b. 1192) *1332 - Andronikos II Palaiologos, Byzantine Emperor (b. 1259) *1539 - Isabella d'Este, Marquise of Mantua (b. 1474) *1542 - Catherine Howard, fifth wife of Henry VIII of England (executed) (b. 1525) *1571 - Benvenuto Cellini, Italian artist (b. 1500) *1585 - Alfonso Salmeron, Spanish Jesuit biblical scholar (b. 1515) *1592 - Jacopo Bassano, Italian painter *1600 - Gian Paolo Lomazzo, Italian painter (b. 1538) *1602 - Alexander Nowell, English clergyman *1608 - Konstanty Wasyl Ostrogski, Lithuanian prince (b. 1526) *1624 - Stephen Gosson, English satirist (b. 1554) *1657 - Miles Sindercombe, attempted assassin of Oliver Cromwell *1660 - King Charles X of Sweden (b. 1622) *1662 - Elizabeth Stuart (b. 1596) *1727 - William Wotton, English scholar (b. 1666) *1728 - Cotton Mather, American Puritan minister (b. 1663) *1732 - Charles-René d'Hozier, French historian (b. 1640) *1787 - Ruđer Bošković, Croatian scientist and diplomat (b. 1711) * 1787 - Charles Gravier, French statesman and diplomat (b. 1717) *1813 - Samuel Ashe, Governor of North Carolina (b. 1725) *1818 - George Rogers Clark, American military leader (b. 1752) *1826 - Petr Alekseevich Pahlen, Russian general (b. 1745) *1837 - Mariano José de Larra, Spanish journalist and writer (b. 1809 *1845 - Henrik Steffens, Norwegian-German philosopher (b. 1773) *1883 - Richard Wagner, German composer (b. 1813) *1888 - Jean Baptiste Lamy, 1st Archbishop of Santa Fe (b. 1814) *1905 - Konstantin Savitsky, Russian painter (b. 1844) *1950 - Rafael Sabatini, Italian author (b. 1875) *1951 - Lloyd C. Douglas, American author (b. 1877) *1952 - Josephine Tey, English author (b. 1896) *1958 - Georges Rouault, French painter (b. 1871) *1964 - Werner Heyde, German psyhiatrist (b. 1902) *1968 - Mae Marsh, American actress (b. 1895) *1975 - André Beaufre, French General (b. 1902) *1976 - Murtala Mohammed, Nigerian military leader (b. 1938) * 1976 - Lily Pons, French-born soprano (b. 1904) *1980 - David Janssen, American actor (b. 1931) *1984 - Andre Stander, South African police captain and bank robber (b. 1946) *1989 - Wayne Hays, American politician (b. 1911) *1991 - Arno Breker, German sculptor (b. 1900) *1992 - Nikolay Bogolyubov, Russian mathematician (b. 1909) *1996 - Martin Balsam, American actor (b. 1919) *1997 - Mark Krasnosel'skii, Russian-Ukrainian mathematician (b. 1920) *2000 - James Cooke Brown, American author and inventor (b. 1921) *2002 - Waylon Jennings, American musician (b. 1937) *2003 - Kid Gavilan, Cuban boxer (b. 1926) * 2003 - Axel Jensen, Norwegian author (b. 1932) * 2003 - Walt Rostow, U.S. government official (b. 1916) *2004 - Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, Chechen leader (b. 1952) *2005 - Nelson Briles, baseball player (b. 1943) * 2005 - Lúcia Santos, Carmelite nun (b. 1907) * 2005 - Maurice Trintignant, French race car driver (b. 1917) *2005 - Dick Weber, American professional bowler (b. 1929) * 2005 - Emilios T. Harlaftis, Greek astrophysicist (b. 1965) *2006 - Andreas Katsulas, American actor (b. 1946) *2007 - Elizabeth Jolley, Australian writer (b. 1923) * 2007 - Johanna Sällström, Swedish actress (b. 1974) * 2007 - Richard Gordon Wakeford, Air Marshal, Royal Air Force (b. 1922) Liturgical feasts *Saint Beatrice *Saint Ermenildis *Saint Fulcran *Saint Polyeuctus *See also February 13 External links * On this day in Canada * * BBC: On This Day ---- Category:February